A mid schoolyear's roadtrip
by xXxIntoTheDarknessxXx
Summary: Ollie, Sammy, Christian, a car, two tents, and the prix de fonteyn auditions. Slash. Don't like it, don't read. Little bit out of character.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: It's just after mid-years and Ollie has returned from the third year tour and prix de fonteyn auditions are underway in Sammy's birth region, a loop hole that will allow him the chance to compete after missing city auditions. Meanwhile, Christian is having his own personal crisis.

So, with season two almost at it's end, I thought I'd write something. Gay characters. Slash. Nothing graphic. Don't like, don't read. Consider yourself warned. Also, it follows episode 17 and contains spoilers from then on. I don't own dance academy, don't claim to. Review if you like, but don't just serve me a cup of cold hater-ade.

'Hey, man. You're back, and you didnt get kicked off the tour again!' Sammy smiled, shaking his head at the thought of Ollie's "community service" sentence: help Sammy train or not rejoin the third-year tour.

'Somehow.' Ollie smiled back, handing Sammy some stuff to carry for him. 'So, I need to get to Kingston for the prix.' Sammy stated. 'But I thought you missed the auditions?' Ollie asked, confused. 'I did.' Sammy agreed casually. 'But?' 'But, regional auditions are underway, and, technically, I was born in the Kingston shire, so..' 'Loophole.' Ollie chuckled. 'So, I need to get there. Preferably in a red car. Oh, look!' He gestured towards Ollie's convertable. 'Sweet. We'll make a roadtrip of it.' Ollie smiled. 'Room for one more?' Christian piped up, walking over towards the other dancers. 'I want to see this guy who makes finless boards; thought I'd check 'em out and see an old mate at the same time.' 'Yeah, it's all cool. Grab your stuff and we'll meet back here in the morning.' The group break up and go their seperate ways, excited about the roadtrip to come, except Christian, who's nervous about what's going to come of his little plan.

It was barely eight thirty when the group threw their stuff in the trunk and climbed into the car. 'Typical. It's the same assignment every year. Two guys in the year above me did the whole coming out to mum and dad thing. Me too, as if being gay somehow defined me.' Ollie scolded the actions of his past, slightly amused at his own naivety. 'How did your parents take it?' Christian asked. 'Bit personal, Christian?' Sammy responded. 'Nah, it's alright. They were pretty good with it. I'd always known, and I guess they did too.'

A short while later, they pulled into a campsite somewhere in Kingston, not far from the audition hall where dancers were already preparing for that afternoon. As Ollie pitched his tent, Sammy and Christian hung a tarpaulin over a string and pegged some support strings into the ground, which left a foot high gap between the tarpaulin and the ground. Leaving their bags in the tent, they took off to the surfboard workshop where they would find the finless boards and where Christian would find his father.

'What can I do for you?' asked a man in his mid-thirties, wiping his hands on a rag. 'I heard you made finless boards.' Christian replied, masking his nerves. 'What do you know about them?' 'Not much, only that they're supposed to stop you slipping?' 'That's about it. What's your name?' Christian hesitated for a moment. 'Chris.' 'Okay, Chris, we'll meet back here this afternoon, go for a surf and I'll figure out what kind of board would be best for you.' 'Okay.' and on that note, Sammy and Christian left. 'Chris? Where'd that come from?' 'Tired, I guess.' Christian blew off Sammy's questioning. 'I'm going for a run. Good luck with your audition today.' 'Thanks.' Sammy called out, but Christian had already began to run, so Sammy headed toward the audition hall, collecting his things from the tent on his way.

'Where do you surf?' 'Maroubra, mostly. Surf's good there.' Christian supplied, diving into the surf on a board he'd borrowed from his father.

After the boy's group audition, Sammy was collecting his things when Ollie walked in. 'You killed it, man. There's no way you won't make the nationals.' 'We'll have to see if I kill it in tomorrow's solos first.' Sammy said. 'Details, man.' Ollie chuckled, putting his arm around Sammy as they walked outside together.

'Sounds like girl problems.' The boardmaker said as he and Christian collapsed on the sand after a long surf on good swell. 'Was that YOUR problem?' Christian asked testily. 'Sorry?' 'Is that why you couldn't hang around for me and mum?' 'I was nineteen when I married her and had you, I couldn't handle the responsibility and I had to find myself. I knew who you were the second you walked in...how is she, anyway?' 'She died. Eighteen months ago. She was sick, she needed you. And you weren't there. I looked after her. I needed you.' Christian's voice grew louder the more emotional he became.

Later, the boys were on the sand by the beach, Sammy practising nervously for the solos and Ollie leaning against his car, yelling out directions. 'How are you supposed to help me if you're sitting over there?' Sammy complained, attempting the same move for the god-knows-what time. Ollie laughed as Christian walked past the car and over to Sammy, performing the same dance that was infuriating his friend. Without missing a step, he leapt into the air, practically pirouetting before landing squarly on the uneven sand, his eyes meeting his father's, barely 20 meters away.

'I brought you this. You might slip a little, but it's a garunteed improvement over anything you were riding before.' He passed the board to his son. 'I don't have any cash.' Christian spoke. 'It's a gift.' His father replied, walking away before any more could be said. Christian carefully removed a piece of paper taped on to the board, and put the mobile number into his pocket. 'I'm going to stay with my mate tonight. My battery's charged if you need me.' He put the new board into Ollie's backseat and walked away.

Sure enough, by the time the boys got back to their tents, fast food in hand, Christian was gone, and so was his stuff. He'd taken Sammy's blanket and left his sleeping bag, though. Good thing that, nights by the beach were cold and his tent wasn't much of a tent.

That night as the rain poured down, Christian had called Sammy and in order to hear him, Sammy had to put his phone on speaker. 'So, do you like him or something?' Christian started. 'Coz you were acting pretty weird before.' 'No, I don't.' Sammy snapped. 'Sorry, it's just, you said you were working that stuff out.' 'Doesn't mean anything, Christian, okay?' Sammy responded, tired of the subject. 'Besides, I think he's into you, man.' Christian replied. 'Lucky I don't go for the neurotic type, then.' Ollie chuckled from his tent. 'Do you mind?' Sammy asked. 'We're trying to have a private conversation.' 'Get in here before you drown out there.' Ollie laughed. 'Gotta go, Christian. See you tomorrow.' 'Good luck, man. Kill it.' Christian replied, ending his words with a hang up. Exasperated, Sammy sighed, collected his things, and crawled into Ollie's tiny tent.

Lying down beside him, Sammy pulled his borrowed sleeping bag up over his head, muttered goodnight to Ollie, and fell asleep, mentally going over his solo again and again.


	2. Chapter 2

The next afternoon, after Sammy's solo audition, which went pretty well, all things considered, Ollie had a confession to make. 'I lied to you before. I actually DO like the neurotic type.' 'Uh, yeah, ok.' Sammy replied, walking away to call Christian.

Christian bounced the incoming call and put his phone back in his pocket. 'Who was that?' His best mate Aaron, asked. 'Nothing important right now. I can call him back later.' 'Your dad?' 'No, just a mate. I've got his number though. He gave it to me when he gave me the board. Hey, why aren't you in Indonesia like you planned?'

'I had better things to do. A kid to raise.' his mate replied casually. 'You have a kid? I turn around for nine months and you've got yourself a baby?' 'You haven't spoken to Kayla lately, have you?' Christian laughed as realisation sunk in. 'She told me she was pregnant, but I didn't know it was you. Promise me something, eh?' 'Yeah, mate, anything.' 'Don't...don't screw up on her. She's my other best mate, and if you hurt her or the baby, I will hurt you.' 'I won't...I mean, I'm not your dad, and I couldn't hurt Kayla like that.' 'Or your kid?' 'Or my kid. His name is Christian, by the way.' 'Seriously? You named him after me?' 'Yeah.'

Calling Kayla, Christian put the phone on speaker. 'Thanks for the call to say you had your baby.' 'Oh, crap, sorry. Hormones made me crazy. His name is-' 'Christian. Aaron told me. Also told me he's the dad. Or did that slip your mind too?' Christian wasn't really mad, but it was taking his friends a little while to feel that. Had they really lost touch? 'Yeah, about that. I kinda wanted my kid to HAVE a dad when it was born, so I couldn't let you kill him.' Christian laughed. He supposed that was a fair go.

'We wanted to ask you if you'll be Chris' god father. We want you to be a big part of his life, afterall, it was you and him that turned our lives around.' Aaron was headed for prison and Kayla? God only knows. 'Really?' Christian mouthed to Aaron. 'Yes, really, cheddar. Don't think I don't know what you're mouthing on the other end of that line.' 'Yes! I'd love too. So, when do I get to meet my godson?'

'I'm sorry, kid, but the work on this car is gonna take a couple of hundred bucks and a little bit of time. Two, three days maybe if I start now.' The mechanic told Ollie. 'Crap. it's not even the money that's the problem, it's the time. But it's all I've got, so...do what you can.' Ollie sighed, resigned to being stuck in Kingston. Damn car. Not one single problem until now. Murphy's law of sports cars.

Later on, he saw Sammy back on the beach, practicing the solo he's just performed, obsessing over things he'd done perfectly. Shaking his head, he went in search of something healthy to eat in that town.

That night, Sammy returned to the tents at the same time as Ollie, both having recieved texts from Christian about staying another night here with his friends and their baby. 'That's lucky.' Ollie said. 'Because we're officially stuck here for two more nights. Stupid car at the mechanics. Wouldn't start. Three hundred bucks to fix the problem, and about three days.' he complained. 'Crap. We are screwed at the academy.' Sammy exclaimed. 'You're telling me. First I get kicked off the tour and then now I'm missing a week of class.' Ollie said. 'First, I fail every exam, and now I'm missing a week of class.' Sammy countered. 'As for Christian, his life will be a cakewalk compared to ours when we get back.' 'For skipping a week of classes? He wasn't here to audition for the prix.' 'We are ALL screwed.' Sammy chuckled.

Both boys crawled into their sleeping bags in the tent or under the tarpaulin, and just lay there listening to the waves crashing onto the shore of the beach. Ollie began to speak before he lost his nerve and fell asleep.

'I didn't mean to freak you out today. Honestly, I was just trying to be upfront. Sorry.' 'I wasn't freaked out.' Sammy argued. 'Yes, you were. You were obsessing over every little detail of your solo.' 'Because I had my audition.' 'After your audition. I saw you on the beach.'

Sammy crawled into Ollie's tent again, facing him. 'That wasn't what freaked me out.' Sammy turned onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow and facing Ollie. 'It wasn't?' Ollie asked. 'No. What freaked me out was...was that...you saying how you felt about me, it's making me admit to myself how I feel about you.' Sammy continued, lying on his back again, one hand behind his head. 'And that...that's what scares me. What's, freaking me out today.' Ollie reached out for Sammy's hand and, feeling no move to pull away, rubbed the back of Sammy's hand with his thumb.

'It's okay, you know, to be freaked out about it.' Ollie said. 'By any of it.' 'Really?' Sammy's voice cracked as he turned his head to face Ollie, tears filling his eyes. 'Because, I don't know...I mean, it's confusing...and, scary...and, different, not totally new, but...I don't know, if I can deal...' the tears spilled as Sammy's voice cracked or he sniffled every few words. Sammy wiped his eyes with his hand, sniffled, and turned towards Ollie who was propped up on his elbow, hands still linked.

'It is.' Ollie assured him, squeezing his hand just a little. 'Just because I knew, doesn't mean I wasn't scared. This stuff, it isn't easy, but we'll get through it. I promise.' 'We?' 'We.' Ollie nodded, opening his arms in a silent invitation to Sammy, whom after a moment of hesitation accepted, wrapping his arms around Ollie and putting his head on his shoulder. Ollie wrapped his own arms around Sammy and held him close.

It was an unfamiliar, but comforting feeling for Sammy, the embrace firm but warm. He blinked, and a single tear escaped, causing the smallest of wet patches on Ollie's shirt. He lay down, arms still wrapped around Sammy, whom shifted just enough to lay his head comfortably on Ollie's chest, his arms around his waist.

When Sammy woke up, light was shining in the tent and he found that he was still wrapped around Ollie. 'Ollie! Hey, Ollie!' Christian whispered. Sammy unwrapped himself from Ollie's arm's, leaving him to sleep. 'Where's Sammy? He's not in his tent and I've got breakfast. It's half ten.' 'Hey, Christian.' Sammy replied, unzipping the tent. 'We're in here. You say something about breakfast?' 'Yeah, here.' Christian passed Sammy a paper bag of takeout breakfast. 'What are you guys still doing here? I didn't know you were until I came down here to surf and saw the tents. Well, Ollie's tent and the tarp.' 'Car wouldn't start. In two days and a few hundred bucks, we can get out of here.' Ollie spoke up, turning down the offer of greasy breakfast. 'What did you get upto yesterday while Sammy was killing the solos?' Ollie asked Christian. 'I wouldn't say I killed them...I'd say I completely annihilated them!' Sammy grinned. 'Met up with an old mate and then found out that my best friends have a baby together...named after me. Asked me to play god-father. I said yes.' 'Is this Kayla and the guy that nearly landed you in juvie last year?' Sammy asked, trying to make sense of the news. 'Yeah...it's them.'Christian smiled. 'I'm going for a swim. Who's coming?' 'Yeah, why not?' Ollie accepted the invitation. 'Uh, yeah, bit later though.' Sammy lay back down. 'Tired, need more sleep.'

Later, after running laps across the sand and swimming in the surf for hours, conversation had grown a little more serious between Ollie and Christian. 'Look, man, I know you're into him.' 'Who, Sammy?' Ollie asked. 'Yeah. And he's into you.' 'Really?' Ollie asked, incredibly interested and a little excited. 'Which is great and all, but hurt him, and you'll know it. He's my best mate at the academy and he's new to all this. Ok?' 'Yeah, don't worry. I don't plan on it. I know what it's like to be in his shoes.' 'Cool. So, do you surf much?' Christian asks, casually changing the subject. 'Never.' 'You've never surfed?' Christian asked, genuinely surprised. 'Me neither.' Sammy piped up. 'Prix results go up in the next couple of days. I need a distraction. Teach us to surf.' 'Alright then, let's go see Raf, borrow a couple of boards.' Ollie and Christian momentarily exchanged a knowing glance behind Sammy's back.

'I'm gonna crash at my mate's again. Call me if results go up in the morning.' Christian said, as they returned the boards to Raf. It was nearly dark out and no-one had eaten since breakfast. 'Let's go find something that's not greasy to eat. Fast food's gonna kill me.' Ollie complained. They ended up settling for a vegetarian pizza. Semi healthy, much less greasy. About as healthy as you could find, though, in Kingston.

Back at the tents, Ollie made a proposal. 'Why don't you just crash in my tent tonight. It looks like rain again and anything is better than that drowning machine you rigged up.' 'Yeah, sure.' Sammy replied as they crawled in. 'So, what are we? I mean, last night, you said "we", but, what did you mean?' 'I meant "we". But together or not, that's what I'm waiting for you to decide.' Ollie explained. 'What did Christian say to you?' Sammy asked. Ollie chuckled. 'Just that he knew how we felt.' 'And..' Sammy prompted, knowing there was more to it than Ollie was saying. 'And that I'd know it if I hurt you.' Ollie shrugged. 'I'll kill him.' Sammy laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Short chapter this time. Fairly out of character. Sensitive, vulnerable, freaked out little Sammy is still hanging around; and for the record, so is super sweet Ollie.

Somehow, Christian is the most in-character character in this story.

Enjoy!

Sammy pulled his mobile from his pocket in the dim light of the tent. Dialing Christian, the only response he got was, 'This is Christian. Voicemail costs money, so be interesting.' Sammy left nothing but a question. 'Were you trying to get us together or scare him off?' He hung up and dropped his phone at his side, his hands reaching up to touch the sides of Ollie's face as he leaned in to kiss the third-year. Both boys pulled away smiling. 'So, I guess you made up your mind.' 'Guess I did.' Sammy kissed him again.

The kiss became more passionate, Ollie's hands slid up from Sammy's waist, lifting his shirt a little. Sammy pulled back long enough for Ollie to tug off the shirt over his head, ripping off his own shortly after. Ollie kissed along Sammy's jawline and down his neck. He gestured that Sammy should lie down. 'Uh, can we maybe, slow down a bit?' Sammy asked nervously. 'It's just, this is all new to me, and I'm kind of nervous. I don't think I'm ready for this.' 'This, as in us or this as in..' Ollie put his hands on Sammy's hips, leaned over to kiss him, and moved one hand to Sammy's belt buckle, undoing it. Talking wasn't really Ollie's strong suit. Sammy put his hand on the one of Ollie's sitting on the buckle. 'That. Definitely that.' Sammy breathed. 'I'm nervous because I haven't done this before. With, anyone.' 'Oh? OH.' Ollie's facial expression showed he understood. 'Right. So, we can take it slow. No biggie.' he kissed the corner of Sammy's mouth and wrapped his arms around him. Sammy leaned his head on Ollie's shoulder, wrapped his arms around him and mentally scolded himself for being such an idiot.

'I totally freaked out over nothing. Again. I'm such a wuss.' Sammy said apologetically. 'I wasn't so different with my first boyfriend. Or my second.' Ollie confessed. 'It's ok.' He picked up Sammy's t-shirt and handed it over, threw his own back on, and lay down in his sleeping bag, and Sammy curled up next to him in his own. It was an uncharacteristically hot night, and both boys at one point or other took their shirts off again and kicked off their sleeping bags, Ollie's arm still firmly around Sammy's waist.

'Christian, shuttup. Trying to sleep here.' Sammy hung up on his mate and tried to go back to sleep. His phone rang again. 'It's twenty past eleven, Sammy. Since when do YOU sleep that late?' 'Since my mates keep calling at ridiculous hours of the morning like twenty past eleven.' 'Whatever. I went past the mechanics. Car should be ready in an hour. Then we face our execution back at school.' 'Right. See ya, Christian.' Sammy hung up again, rolling his eyes and throwing his mobile across the tent. 'Morning, Sammy. Do you always talk that loud on the phone?' 'Only when Christian wakes me up. Apparently the car will be ready in an hour.' 'Great.' Ollie smiled, planting a kiss on Sammy's head. 'But, until then, shh. Sleeping.'

'Uh, right, I'll come back later.' Christian offered, having walked into the tent where both boys lie shirtless, Sammy's shorts having slipped overnight as he neglected to tighten his belt again, exposing his boxers and giving Christian the distinct impression he'd seen something he wasn't supposed to. 'What?' Ollie asked. 'Uh...' Christian began, glancing down towards Sammy's lower half. 'What?' He asked. 'OH! No, that wasn't what you're thinking.' Sammy blushed as he pulled up his shorts and tightened his belt, grabbing his shirt to throw over his head as he followed Christian out of the tent and down to the beach.

'That was-that was-WASN'T what you thought, really, Christian. We were hot, so we took our shirts off and ditched the sleeping bags.' Sammy explained away the half of it. 'The belt thing, that was nothing, really. Talking isn't Ollie's forte.'

'I don't wanna know.' 'Not like that, I freaked out, said I wasn't ready, and he wasn't sure what I meant. But it was what we were doing, not who it was with. Do you know what I mean?' 'Three things. A, you're rambling. B, I really don't care. C, he likes you. It's not gonna matter to him if you freak out because you're a virgin.' Christian listed. 'Say it a little louder, Christian. Kids back at the academy couldn't hear you.' 'Ok, sorry man. I just mean that it shouldn't matter how long it takes before you're ready. If he's a good guy, he won't mind.'

'Can we switch the subject? It's been long enough now that the car will be ready and we can drive to our execution.' 'Yeah, sure.' They make their way back to the tents to pack them up and walk to the mechanics, where they threw their things in the boot, cough up the money, and drive back towards Sydney, where results for the prix and drama of the academy await them.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Gets a little more adult this chapter. Or not. The last three episodes of this season (2) have ripped out my heart and thrown it into the harbor. One more chapter or so to go after this one.

Enjoy :)

Two weeks after the group had returned to school and completed half of their detention sentences-four weeks scubbing every inch of every studio-Sammy finally had the nerve to open his email from the prix de fonteyn audition board. 'What if I didn't make it?' He asked his boyfriend. 'What if you did, and you never open that email and never know?' He replied. Drawing a deep breath, Sammy opened the email and began to read.

_'Mr Lieberman,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the nationals of the Prix de Fonteyn, based upon your audition in the Kingston region.'_

Sammy stopped reading then, and jumped up from where he was sitting on his bed to hug his boyfriend, whom standing just a few feet away was grinning from ear to ear at the good news. 'I could never have done this without you. You're amazing.' 'Me?' Ollie questioned. 'You're the one whos dancing in the Nationals of the Prix!' He put two fingers under Sammy's chin and tilted his head up to face him. Leaning in, their lips met and were shortly interrupted by Christian walking in. 'Shut the door, man.' 'No, wait.' Sammy responded quickly before his mate could walk away. 'I got in. To the nationals.' 'Congratulations man. I didn't get in, but I'm sick of being Zach's pet project anyway.'

'Who got in? Where?' Tara asked, pausing in the doorway as she walked past. 'Sammy. To the nationals. My boyfriend is going places.' Ollie announced, excited for Sammy. 'Eeeeeeeeee!' Tara squealed. 'I've always wanted a gay best friend!' She ran to hug Sammy like a hyper little kid. 'Oh yeah, congratulations on getting in.' 'Hey, can we keep this on the down-low, T? Not the part about the nationals, the part about being gay.' 'Who's gay?' Kat demanded, waltzing into the boy's room at the comotion. 'Me. And my boyfriend, Ollie.' 'Aww, I'm so happy for you Sammy. You two make a heaps cute couple. Don't worry, no-one will hear a word of this from me.' Kat hugged her ex-roomate and his boyfriend before making her excuses and dragging Tara from the room.

Sammy picked up his mobile and sent a text to Ollie:

_Come into my room. Christian asleep on couch._

A few minutes later, when Sammy guessed Ollie must be asleep, he tiptoed into the room and shut the door. 'Hey. What did you call me down here for? It's getting harder and harder to sneak past that old bat.' He said, referring of course to Miss Histead, the dorm mistress and academic teacher. 'We haven't had any time for us, what with floor scrubbing, mirror washing and barre polishing taking up most of our time since Kingston. I thought we could spend a little time together. Stay with me tonight?'

Ollie climbed into bed with Sammy, who ripped off his shirt and Ollie's, kissing his jawline, down his neck, in much the same way as Ollie had kissed him that night in the tent. 'Wait, why are we doing this in your room where Chrisian could walk in any minute?' Ollie questioned, 'Well, I would have gone to your room but I knocked before and got no answer.' Ollie blushed in the darkness. He hadn't answered because he had his own room and was otherwise 'privately' engaged.

'Well, it's too hard to try sneaking past hisstead again. I'd swear she had sensors hooked up in all the hallways.' Ollie reasoned. 'How else would she catch Kat sneaking out every weekend?' Sammy agreed, fumbling to undo his belt buckle. 'Hey, relax. You'll only make yourself more nervous.' Ollie spoke gently. 'Here.' Sammy passed him something small and foil from the drawer by his bedside. 'Are you sure? 'Coz I don't wanna do this if you're not.' 'I am.' Sammy kissed his boyfriend and tried to not sound the slightest bit more nervous than he already was.

He got up to shut the blinds and lock the door, taking a couple of seconds to pull himself together a little more. In the meantime, Ollie had thrown his jeans to the floor and was lying under the blanket. Sammy slid in next to him, and Ollie flipped over so that he was on top, pulling the blanket up to his shoulders, leaning down to kiss his boyfriend, deferring from his mouth to kiss his jawline, his neck, down his chest. He unhooked the button, unzipped the fly, and pulled off Sammy's jeans, throwing them to the floor next to his own. He kissed back up his chest, his neck, along his jawline, back to his mouth.

When Ollie tried to move his lips from Sammy's to kiss anywhere else, Sammy would capture Ollie's lips with his own, momentarily distracting him before he would try to move again. Ollie was about to rip open the foil wrapper when Sammy sat up. 'I'm not. I thought I was, but I'm not. All I am is trying to rush it, to get it over with so maybe I'll be ready next time. And that's not fair to you, or myself. I can't do it. I'm sorry.' Ollie lie down next to Sammy, who pulled the blanket right up to his face and turned away from him.

'It's okay to not be ready, Sammy. You don't have to force it or rush or try to make yourself ready. You will be when you are, okay?' Ollie turned onto his side to put his arm around his boyfriend. 'Okay,' Sammy turned around to kiss Ollie before holding his hand to his torso and falling asleep wrapped in his warmth.

He was woken by the bedroom door as Ollie tried to sneak out before Christian woke up on the couch and crawled into bed. 'Morning, Ollie.' 'Oh, I was trying to sneak out without waking you up.' He crossed the room to kiss Sammy. 'Go back to sleep, it's really early. Barely even light out yet.' 'Nah, I've gotta get up now if I'm going to get a run in today. Detention is killing my spare time.' 'Get ready and I'll meet you by the steps in five.' Ollie offered. Sammy passed Christian waking up on the couch as he made to leave the boarding house. 'Me and Ollie are going for a run. Coming?' 'Yeah why not, give me five.'


	5. Chapter 5

A mid-school year's roadtrip-Chapter 5 rewritten.

Just as detention was wrapping up and floor mopping, mirror wiping and barre polishing were no more occupying the boy's spare time, Christian took up motorbike riding, going for his liscence on the weekends with Kat acting as his personal cheerleader. Their relationship reveal had crushed Tara, and shocked Sammy, although the rest of the group were indifferent.

Raf was back on the scene, not for much longer than to tell Christian he was taking off to Tasmania; but just long enough for Christian to decide to go along. 'You're leaving? To go to Tasmania with a guy you've known for five minutes?' Sammy questioned, or maybe, interogated his best mate. 'He's my father. He hasn't always supported me, or been there for me, but he is now. Something you should understand.' Sammy tried to ignore the cutting remarks. 'It's 1300km away! And you're going to trash your marks. Do you WANT to get kicked out of the academy?' Sammy argued, trying to ignore the tearing at his heart that the idea of Christian leaving produced. He was over him, totally and completely. Wasn't he?

Christian, weirded out by Sammy's reluctance to let him go, asked, 'Why do you care so much if I'm 1300km away? I'll defer and keep my place at the academy.' Sammy tried to look non chalant. 'I don't. Except that you're my only male friend here.'

The next day, as Christian was about to jump into Raf's van, Sammy and Ollie walked over. 'So you heard, eh?' Christian asked the latter male. 'Yeah. Have fun, man. See ya when you get back.' Ollie said casually, the tiny, jealous part of him secretly happy Christian was going for however long. 'I will. See ya, man. Bye Sammy.' Christian and Sammy clapped backs in their famous man-hug style. 'We'll miss you around here man.' Sammy said, still feeling the pain of knowing Christian was leaving. 'Is there a return date on this trip?' He found he had the courage to ask. 'No. Why put an end date on fun?' Christian climbed into the van and put on his seatbelt as Raf started the engine, and that was it. His best mate was leaving, with no return date. But it shouldn't have hurt like it did.

Ollie grabbed his hand at the look on Sammy's face as the two of them waved momentarily, giving it a comforting squeeze. 'He'll call, or text. He's still your best mate.' He tried to comfort.

***

Three months came and passed with no word from Christian. After 4 months, he did leave a voicemail saying he wasn't coming back. All Sammy seemed to do was pine after Christian, becoming depressed and losing all interest in Ollie and their relationship, which hurt Ollie more than he could say. One day, it came to boiling point for Sammy's ever patient boyfriend, and he confronted Sammy. 'I love you, but all I am is a consolation prize to you!' Sammy looked shocked. 'That's not true. What is this about?'

'It's about YOU and how all you do is pine after Christian, when he doesn't even contact you! You told me you were over him, but as far as I can tell, you still want him.' Sammy shut his bedroom door, and shut the blinds. 'Can you keep it down? The whole bording house can hear you.' Ollie looked completely heartbroken. 'See, you aren't even trying to deny it. I'm right, aren't I?'

'No, no, not at all. It's you I want. He's not even a blip on my romantic radar anymore. It's you. Just you. I swear.' Ollie gave him the benefit of the doubt. But it really couldn't last.

Months later, things went south with Ollie and Sammy. Not the legal age use protection way either. The Ollie-knows-Sammy-doesn't-feel-the-same-way-anymore-and-really-still-wants-Christian way. Ollie was sick of being a consolation prize, and so, they split up. It was hard to tell the moment they knew it was over. 'Come back when you realise what you've thrown away.' Ollie said, and that was it.


End file.
